


Love of All Kinds

by whatiwroteinink



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Brothers, Deaf Character, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, I CANT WRITE SUMMARIES, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, In case you couldnt tell, M/M, Mutual Pining, Requited Unrequited Love, SO, Separation Anxiety, So please forgive me, Social Anxiety, Trans Character, Trans David Jacobs, Trans Male Character, a n x i e t y, alot of the tagged relationships are background, and i dont know how to tag, because WHY TF NOT, crutchie and jack are NOT romantic in this if you make it romantic ill cry, davey is my favorite character btw, daveys my fave, i would die for him, im trans, lots of OOC, this is literally my first work on the archive, this is mostly javid cause im a slut for javid, uhh more tags to come i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatiwroteinink/pseuds/whatiwroteinink
Summary: Jack and Crutchie, two brothers in the foster system, are placed together in a new home in New Jersey. Navigating high school is hard enough when you’re fighting against your own inner (and outer) demons- not to mention the cute stage manager of the winter musical catching Jack’s eye…---Featuring excessive Jack/Davey pining, cute brothers Jack and Crutchie, big brother Spot trying his best, and Medda wondering what the hell she got herself into. Rated T for language but it's more Gen.





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is my first multichapter fic that i expect to go anywhere so please be kind to me. if i misrepresnt anything please let me know and i'll fix it! i don't mean to offend anyone.  
> \---  
> chapter tw: there’s nothing to bad in this chapter but later chapters will have mentions of abuse. also some heavy angst- i’ll put additional warnings before each chapter, and please read at your discretion- your health is more important than any fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! this is my first multichapter fic that i expect to go anywhere so please be kind to me. if i misrepresnt anything please let me know and i'll fix it! i don't mean to offend anyone.  
> \---  
> chapter tw: there’s nothing to bad in this chapter but later chapters will have mentions of abuse. also some heavy angst- i’ll put additional warnings before each chapter, and please read at your discretion- your health is more important than any fic.

“C’mon, Crutch, we’re almost there,” Jack muttered quietly, rubbing the back of his brother dozing next to him as he looked indifferently out the window at the rain soaked trees and suburban houses. 

“Is this it?” he asked the social worker driving them- his first words to her of the day. 

Cherry was a young woman with bright candy-colored hair and a kind face. Surprised, she glanced at him in the rearview mirror before responding.

“This is the neighborhood. You’re right by the schools, the library… It should be nice for you here.”

Jack didn’t feel the need to reply, choosing instead to continue to stare at the damp countryside.

“Alright boys- this is it,” she smiled back at them, sighing when she didn't get a response beyond a quiet nod. Jack was looking wide-eyed at the house in front of him. Scratch that- it wasn't a house, it was borderline a mansion. The thing was huge, and Jack could see the hints of a swimming pool out around the back. Quickly, he shook Crutchie awake. Groggily, Crutchie obliged.

_ Look at this place!  _ Jack signed, excited at the prospect of living in such a large house, even if it was only for a month or so before they were kicked out.

Crutchie’s eyes widened as he took in their next home in the same way Jack had moments before. 

_ Damn, _ Crutchie replied, sitting up fully in his seat next to Jack. As they studied the layout of the house, a joyful looking woman stepped out the front door into the yard, smiling despite the persistent drizzle and gray skies.

_ Shoot, right,  _ Jack cursed towards Crutchie.  _ Put in your hearing aids. _

Crutchie winced, pulling them out of his pocket and Jack just sighed.

_ You know she can't know just how bad it can be sometimes- we’ll be out of here immediately. It'll only be until we're alone. _

Reluctantly, the younger boy put in his blue hearing aids he had had for years now and shivered as the ambient noises came back to him. As he climbed out of the car behind Jack he began to make out voices. Disoriented, he looked around for the source of the voice he was hearing. 

“... And this is Ms. Larkin,” Cherry was saying, pulling their bags out of the trunk of her sleek car. Jack took the bags and slung one over his shoulder while handing the other to Crutchie. Their hands found each other and gave a reassuring squeeze as they looked up at the smiling black woman in front of them.

“Please, call me Medda!” she laughed, holding out her hands for both boys to awkwardly shake. “You must be Jack and Andrew!”

They nodded, re-adjusting themselves after the handshake and not saying a single word.

“Boys…” Cherry sighed, glancing kindly but firmly at them and making it clear someone had to speak. 

“I'm Jack, and this is Cru… Andrew,” Jack mumbled quickly in his slight New York accent, deciding he'd better just get it over with. His knuckles turned white as he squeezed onto his brothers hand. It wasn't easy for him to talk anymore.

“Thanks for having us,” Crutchie tried, his voice thick with disuse making the lisp he shared with his brother even more prominent. Medda’s smile only grew wider at response from the boys.

“It’s a pleasure, boys! Now, I got a kid who’s here all the time working on some odd jobs for me and the theatre ready to show you around, and then we’ll have a little chat once y’all get settled in,” she beamed, ushering them inside the door. Reluctantly, the brothers disentangled their fingers to follow her into the house. 

Inside, the sight took Jack’s breath away. The entryway revealed an open floor plan with beautiful hardwood floors and soft rugs. Soft blue and purple paint adorned the walls, which were lit brightly with a white glow. 

That, however, wasn't what Jack was looking at. Sitting on a stool next to a kitchen counter leaning over a binder was the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. He looked about Jack’s age, with slightly curly and overgrown dark brown hair and a face-full of faint freckles smattered over his slightly tanned skin. As Jack watched him, he pulled a pencil from behind his ear and scribbled something down on his paper, sticking out the tip of his tongue in concentration.

Medda’s cough to get the dark-haired boy’s attention brought both him and Jack back to the real world. 

“Oh!” he smiled, his voice clear and happy, “Sorry Ms. Medda! I was just working on the set list for the show- thanks again for letting us use your theatre.”

“Of course, dear,” she replied, smiling fondly at him. “Now, those boys I told you about are here, and I trust you to give them a warm welcome.”

The boy started, as if just noticing that Jack and Crutchie were there. 

“Ah! Hey!” he smiled towards the two of them. “My name’s Davey. Jacobs. I do stuff ‘round here for Medda- painting, I build her some sets, ya’know? So you'll see me around a lot.”

Jack just took his hand without saying anything. 

“Davey…” Medda chuckled, causing the boys to drop each other's hands immediately. “You were going to show them around?”

“Right! Yeah!” he said brightly. “You can follow me this way… Jack, right? And Andrew?”

“Jack’s my brother here, but you can call me Crutchie,” Crutchie smiled at Davey as they turned to go up the stairs. He didn't care to focus on how his voice was sounding, and he put on a happy face- Crutchie was determined he would like it here.

“Alright, well…” Davey filled the silence as they left Medda and Cherry discussing in low voices and took the staircase up to the second floor. “There’s, uh… Ah! This is Medda’s room, you can probably find her here if you need anything.” 

They stopped outside a plain looking door. Nothing in the house was ornate or overdone, but you could tell it wasn’t cheap either. 

“Across the hall there is the library,” Davey said, gesturing to dark wooden double doors left a slight crack open, “it used to be a bedroom, but she got it redone about a year ago.” 

Walking a little farther, he reaches to open a door. “This is a spare room. it's not really used for much, but we sometimes go in here to paint and-”

Inside the room was a girl sleeping on a couch, her head slumped over a laptop. Jack was beginning to get the impression that Medda was well liked by the kids in the town, but it didn't mean he would trust her- not yet. 

“Kathrine?” Davey asked, laughing slightly as he shook the girl awake.

“Davey!” she replied, smoothing out her shirt and standing. “Sorry I was…there's this paper for English… and my dad...” She turned, noticing Jack and Crutchie.

“Oh, hi! I'm Katherine, and seeing as I haven't put your picture in the yearbook yet I'm assuming you guys are the kids Medda’s taking in?” 

Jack nodded, and before he could make an attempt to speak, Crutchie came to the rescue. 

“Yeah! I'm Crutchie, that's Jack,” he laughed, “and that's Davey and you’re Katherine.”

“Yeah, we know each other already,” she giggled at him despite herself, “And… I’m sorry for how insensitive I’m about to be, but… your voice is…?”

“Oh, yeah,” Crutchie gave a tired smile, ready to recite his prepared answer, “I’m deaf- have been since I was little.” 

He tapped his hearing aids and continued, “I still have enough hearing to hold verbal conversation but it's really only if I have these in. I don't wear them all the time, but it’s whatever. I'm pretty good at reading lips. I mean, the lisp is partially genetic though- even Jack has it!”

“Right, sure,” Katherine said good-naturedly. “Anyway, I suppose I should leave you guys to, you know…”

“‘Course!” Crutchie grinned and waved her goodbye, going to go retake his brothers hand in reassurance as she exited the room.  With his free hand he signed behind his back to Jack.

_ Ok?  _ he fingerspelled out, keeping his concern for his brother out of his face.

_ Fine,  _ Jack replied, tapping it out in morse code so that Crutchie wouldn’t need to look back for them to communicate nonverbally. It was something they had always done- generally for Crutchie’s lack of hearing, not Jack’s lack of voice, but their roles had certainly reversed as of late and the younger boy was becoming the stronger one out of necessity. 

“...and this is your guy’s room,” Davey was finishing a sentence as the two brothers tuned back into reality. “You can get separate rooms if you want them, but Medda said that you guys wouldn't be wanting it…” 

Davey trailed off, leaving the end of the statement uncertain.

“This is fine,” Crutchie said quickly, more interested in getting out of whatever situation was causing Jack stress than making small talk with Davey, but not letting his smile drop for a minute nonetheless.

“Right, sure,” Davey said, “I'll leave you two to get settled- Ms. Medda will probably show you around downstairs tonight. The basement is basically storage, a workshop, and occasionally a game room if Race is determined enough. I gotta head home, my folks’ll be waiting dinner. I'll see you at school sometime next week!” 

Davey had already turned away by the time he finished his last sentence. Exhausted, Crutchie dropped his smile and turned worriedly to Jack as he closed the door. Easing himself onto one of the two double beds in the room he winced, taking out his hearing aids and digging through his bag for the one of his leg braces he wasn't wearing under his pants already. As Jack came over to help put it on, Crutchie began signing quickly at him.

_ Are you really alright? Jack? And you can't just lie to me, I do know when you're not telling the truth.  _

Jack finished the straps and looked tiredly up at his younger brother who was acting so much older now- it broke his heart to see this 14 year old kid needing to be so mature because of him.

_ I'm just tired, _ he lied, sitting on the bed next to Crutchie and gently pulling him into his lap to stroke his younger brothers hair.

_ No you aren't. What is it, Jack? You know you can tell me. _

Jack sighed, giving up on pretending to be strong. 

_ The last time I felt this optimistic about a new life for us,  _ he signed slowly, tears forming in his eyes,  _ it was at the Manhattan house.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! i hope you liked it! please comment; even if it's just a keysmash, ill cry about it for days, print it out, show all my freinds, and eat it. hit me up on tumblr at @and-its-only-us (my main) or @what-i-wrote-in-ink (my writing) (this is crossposted there). I hope to update at least once every week or two but i'm human and can't be perfect. please comment and kudos! also! this might get slightly changed (i wrote it orignially over a year ago) so if something doesn't add up you can let me know. it was probably a mistake.


	2. The Manhattan House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is some background-building stuff for Jack, so it gets,,, pretty heavy. Mentions and descriptions of emotional and physical abuse. Your health is more important than a fic, so you can read a summary in the bottom notes! Also this is very short, basically a filler chapter with some backstory stuff. It's VERY cliche tbh. This was written almost two years ago, but the next chapter is more recent so it should get better. Sorry you have to suffer through my middle school writing.

The Manhattan house was a large brownstone building. It served as a “home for challenged youth”, and Crutchie and Jack had ended up there almost one year ago. The quick ushering out of the social workers should have served as warning signs enough for Jack, but he was  young, and he was scared, and all he wanted was for his baby brother to sleep in a bed every night. 

It all seemed well enough when the woman with the soft voice and kind eyes had taken them in with gentle words and quiet smiles and walked them a ways away into a warm building where they were fed _ real  _ food and promised to be taken care of. Jack didn't see what was really happening. He wished he could have. 

In all honesty, without the house, Crutchie wouldn't have survived the winter that was coming on fast. And once Crutchie was gone, Jack knew he would follow him willingly soon enough.

The only thing the house saved them from was starvation and hypothermia. It more than made up for it’s few kindnesses with its many evils. Yes, Crutchie got to sleep in a bed every night- he got to struggle up to a top bunk with four other boys and cry himself to exhaustion at nine pm sharp. 

With Crutchie, it was like he was the personal plaything of the man in charge of the house, Snyder. He was at his beck and call, forbidden from signing to anyone and forced to stay on his feet no matter how much he cried out and stumbled in pain. 

Jack was simply a stress reliever. Anything that happened was his fault. If Crutchie fell over in exhaustion and Jack so much as twitched a finger towards helping him, it was a beating. Another kid there spoke his mind? Jack was the one who was beaten. He so much as  _ dared  _ to ask for mercy, not for him, but for his little brother, who didn't deserve any of this? He was beaten. 

_ He's only thirteen!  _ Jack would beg.

_ I told you to stay quiet,  _ Snyder would sneer, and out would come the whip. 

And there were other things happening too- things Crutchie was slightly too young to understand, but Jack saw the tear tracks on the older kids faces when they came back after a long day with their clothes buttoned incorrectly and their skin raw in places he didn't want to think about. 

If it wasn't for his brother, Jack would have given up long before they got out. He would have curled up in a ball and refused to get up after the first month in that place. 

But he didn't, and eventually help came. Sympathetic men and women in starchy shirts and pants explained that they were here to help, and that they would get them out of this place. 

Almost everyone cried tears of relief- Jack couldn't.

_ Please let him go!  _ Jack would cry.

_ I didn't ask for your tears,  _ Snyder would whisper. 

One of these women was Cherry- she was crying too when they got there. She was one of the youngest there, her bright hair and pink eyeshadow making her stand out from the crowd.

She was the one who found Jack crying out with a hoarse voice from a dark corner. He was leaning over Crutchie in a protective stance, hugging his semi-conscious and malnourished body close to himself. Even then, he wouldn't let anyone touch him, not until they got to a hospital. 

_ This is my fault,  _ he thought.

_ Don't feel sorry for yourself,  _ Snyder laughed.  _ I didn't say you could talk. _

For lack of resources for the 25 kids they had to house, Cherry had taken clothes from her own house to the hospital to give to the brothers she had found.

“You remind me of my younger brother. He's not… he… Just take these. They'll fit you, and he'd be happy you had them,” she told Jack, thrusting a bag full of sweaters, shirts, and pants in his and Crutchie’s sizes into his hands.

He didn't say anything. 

He never did anymore.

_ Keep your mouth shut,  _ Snyder had laughed cruelly.

Jack Kelly doesn't talk anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary for those who didn't wanna read the chapter: Jack and Crutchie were both seriosuly mistreated at "The Manhattan House" (read: the Refuge), and because of how cruel Snyder was to Jack (often telling him to shut up/stop talking/ect.) Jack doesn't like to talk anymore.


	3. Miss Medda Larkin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just. just take it.

Jack awoke wrapped in Crutchie’s arms, the blankets below them undisturbed. He closed his eyes, thinking of simpler times, when their mom had still been alive and Jack was free to be a kid. He even remembered their time in the system before the Manhattan house, when Jack had stepped into his big brother role and fought off mean kids and nightmares with a glance. Now here he was, sleeping off tears in his younger brother’s arms. He wished he was still the strong one. 

“Boys?” Jack heard, a knock at the door bringing him out of his reverie. The door opened a crack and the kind-looking woman from before poked her head in. “Davey said he left you guys here. You’re welcome to explore the rest of the house- dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes and then I’d like to talk to you both.”

Luckily, Medda seemed to realize she wasn’t going to be getting a response from Jack and left the room. Jack turned to Crutchie and gave him a questioning look.

_ So? _ Jack signed to him.

Years of closeness between the two of them had led to Crutchie knowing exactly what his older brother meant by that one word. He smiled back at him. 

_ I know you’re worried, but… I like it here. Miss, uh… Medda, Miss Medda seems nice, and I’m ready to be happy. For once. I mean, for fuck’s sake, the last place we were staying was a hospital. You know? I’m ready for a second chance.  _

When Jack didn’t respond, Crutchie giggled and pushed him a little. Gently, of course. He was always gentle now.

_ Besides, Jack, you  _ totally _ have the hots for that stagehand.  _

_ I do not! _

_ Sure, bro. Whatever you say. _

Jack’s mood somewhat salvaged, the boys prepared to head down for dinner. Crutchie tightened the straps on his braces and popped in his hearing aids, and Jack walked into the bathroom adjacent to their room and tried to straighten himself out. He stepped back into the main room just in time to see Crutchie trying and failing to stand up. The younger boy leaned against the bedpost, supporting all his weight on his right leg while the other stayed bent, hovering just off the ground. Jack ran over to where his brother’s crutches were leaning against the wall and brought them to him.

_ Is it that bad right now?  _ Jack asked, concern written across his face.

_ It’s just the stress, _ Crutchie replied, adjusting himself,  _ I’m just… It’s been an overwhelming day.  _

Before Jack could reply, Crutchie plastered on a smile.

_ I’ll be fine, Jack. Seriously. I’m just tired.  _

At this, the boys headed down to dinner. A couple guesses and turns towards where they thought they heard conversation, and they arrived in the dining room to see another kid, maybe a year or two older than them, setting plates and silverware out on the table and chatting idly with Medda. When Medda saw the boys enter the room, she turned towards them and smiled. 

“Hey Jack! Andrew!” she called over to them, “Dinner is just about served. Sean’s just setting the table and… Oh! You boys don’t know Sean yet. He’s my son I adopted about… seven years ago I want to say?”

Just as Medda was about to start another sentence, a timer went off in the kitchen, causing her to start. “Sean, take care of introducing yourself, ok?” she said, already turning back to open the oven. 

The boy- Sean, they now knew- grinned at them. 

“You can take a seat anywhere. I’m Sean, but most people call me Spot. It’s really just Mom who uses my name. I’m an incoming senior at Millburn High. You guys are going in as freshmen, right?”

“Yeah!” Crutchie beamed. Despite everything, he was still kinda excited about going into high school.

“Uh, sophomore,” Jack murmured, sitting down next to his brother at the oak dining table.

“Oh, cool! If you guys met Davey, earlier,” Spot smiled as Jack and Crutchie both nodded, “He and his sister are sophomores too.”

Presently, Medda came in with the food, and Jack could feel himself unwinding as the meaningless conversation continued. It didn’t hurt that his little brother could talk about a mile a minute and was holding more than enough conversation for Jack to stay in the background. As they were finishing up, there was a lull in the conversation, and Medda spoke up to address Jack and Andrew.

“Alright boys, I think we’ll clean up now. Sean and I can handle the dishes- I don’t want you doing chores your first night here. Now, y’all go up and get yourselves ready to sleep and then come back on down here and we’ll talk, ok?”

“Sure, Miss Medda,” Crutchie replied good naturedly, and the brothers walked upstairs.

Once they were in their room, Crutchie turned to Jack and began signing.

_ You seem less stressed than earlier. Do you like them, then? _

Jack had to stop changing with a shirt halfway over his head to respond.  _ Yeah, they’re cool I guess. I liked that Spot kid. And Medda seems nice. _

_ I’m glad.  _ Crutchie signed after a moment.  _ I really am looking forward to a fresh start. I hope this is the place.  _

_ Me too. Ready to go back down? _

Crutchie pulled on his old blue hoodie and smiled.  _ Yup. _

Back downstairs the boys found Medda and Spot sitting in what looked like the family room, talking in hushed tones. Spot looked upset, and Medda put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him tightly into a hug. As they seperated, Spot seemed to notice the younger boys for the first time and nodded in their direction. Medda smiled at them.

“Alright boys! Now, y’all can sit down anywhere. Sean, I can see you tomorrow morning, yes?”

“‘Course, Mom. Love you.”

“You too Sean. Get some sleep, now.”

At this, Spot climbed the stairs and disappeared, leaving the two brothers alone with Medda, waiting to see what this ‘talk’ was about. They grabbed each other’s hands and squeezed, as much for their own comfort as to comfort the other. Whatever was coming, they would be in it together. 

“So, boys, I want to start off by saying you’re not in trouble, and nothing bad is going to happen to you so long as I have any say in it” Medda began, looking carefully at their faces. “I just wanted to… debrief you, I suppose, on what was coming for you, living here.”

The tension in the room palpably receded. Before either of the brothers could say anything, Medda continued. 

“To start off, I have seen your records and I know what brought you here, and I  _ certainly _ don’t think any less of you for it. Your past circumstances are not your fault. I know you’ve had a rough life, and I want this to be easy for you. However, there will be ground rules.

“To start, you will be expected to clean up your own messes. This does not mean that I’m planning to go all Cinderella on you and have you clean the whole house until it’s sparkling. You just need to deal with what you’ve done.

“Second, don’t sneak out. I’m pretty lenient in my authority, and if you want to do something, just ask. I’m sure David and Katherine’s group will keep you more than occupied once you start going to school. I just want to know where you are. 

“Third, and probably last, you will both be expected to go to school. You don’t need top marks, just a willingness to try. Is this all understood?”

Both boys nodded, and Medda smiled warmly at them. 

“Okay. Now, I know it’s a different situation for everyone, so what do you boys have with you?”

“Do you mean, like, our stuff?” Jack asked, immediately feeling self-conscious. Each boy had a backpack of personal stuff, and combined they had a duffel bag of clothes. Before Jack could try and explain this, Crutchie jumped in.

“We have some personals, and enough clothes to last a little over a week before we need to do laundry. It’s always been enough. And I have all my medical equipment. There’s, um, a lot of that, but the medication does need refills… Cherry said she would-”

“Ms. Woods talked to me about all of that, Andrew. You’re connected to a pharmacy near here, and everything about that will be ok. Regarding your more material belongings, though, if you’re both comfortable with it, I’ll be sending you to the mall to get some things for yourselves. Clothes, phones, toiletries, whatever you need. I’ll send David and Spot with you, and knowing them I’m sure a few others will tag along. I want y’all to have everything you need.”

The conversation continued later into the night. When Jack and Crutchie went back upstairs to their room again, they were tired. Neither slept, however. Jack was scared, afraid of trusting, and Crutchie was optimistic. He was ready for a new start, and it was what he was going to get. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear to GOD i rewrote the end of this like 10 times its so BAD but I wanted to get it out here for you so. take it. also if there are eny suggestions you have for what you want to see, comment them! i only have a loose outline for the future plot so i'll take most of the stuff you throw at me!


End file.
